Seattle President Lynn Wirta organized an excellent music program for the closing dinner with a band, kantele players, and a choir with sing-a-long in Finnish. All meetings were held at the Finnish Lutheran Church, where a concluding service was held in Finnish followed by traditional Finnish breakfast foods on the following Sunday.
Our Berkeley Lodge 21 brought six members to the Grand Lodge invention this year, more than have attended out of town conferences in many years, held in Seattle Sept 18-20. Grand Lodge President Alison Kastama presided over various committee reports and included reports from all three states to continue the Finnish traditions in their respective cities. Delegates also discussed such issues as Scholarships, the Vjellyesviesti Sanomat, Bylaws & Procedures, etc.
Newly elected Junior Vice President Gina Hansen (of Berkeley) agreed to organize and create an organization website explain the purpose of the lodge, a description of respective lodges, and a joint calendar so members can plan visits to attend events hosted by other lodges. The name suggested by Trustee Paul Koski (of Aberdeen) was www.finnishkalevalodges.com. Design work is continuing to be completed as calendar items and news tweets are currently being added to the site.
Those parties interested in joining the Berkeley Lodge can go to http://finnishhall.com/ufkbas21_join.html.
